Her Biggest Mistake Was Him

I never imagined that all our years together would boil down to Lilibeth calling me a good-for-nothing impotent piece of trash.

I shook my head, pushed my emotions aside, and called Ryan Carter, a friend of mine who was a lawyer, to sort out the divorce papers.

Before I could even finish the call, my phone buzzed with a call from the hospital.

The moment I picked up, Rosaline's shrill voice exploded from the other end. "Why is it so damn hard for you to just pay the bill? Are you trying to let me die here? The doctor's already pushing for the surgery!

"Marrying you was the biggest mistake of Lily's life, you good-for-nothing impotent trash! I swear you want to leave Lily without her mother and any children, just so you can keep her under your thumb forever. You have two hours to bring that money, or I'll make sure Lily divorces you!"

Her venomous words made my temples throb. Ever since the test results came back, Rosaline had grown increasingly cruel, slipping in a dig at me every chance she got. Lately, she'd gotten even worse.

I took a few deep breaths to steady myself.

"Lilibeth and I are getting a divorce," I said flatly. "Go to her for anything to do with your medical condition from now on."

There was a beat of silence on the other end, followed by a burst of mocking laughter.

"You and Lily are getting a divorce? All these years, you've clung to her shamelessly. Lily could find herself two more husbands, and you still wouldn't have the spine to divorce her, you pathetic cuck! If she weren't so soft-hearted, no woman would ever look twice at a barren failure like you!

"Now get over here with the money! Keep running your mouth, and I'll have Lily divorce you for real this time."

She hung up before I could respond.

I had already said what needed to be said. There was no point in explaining further, so I started packing my things. Since I had made up my mind to end the marriage, there was no reason to drag my feet.

After rummaging for a while, I realized my possessions barely filled half a suitcase.

In all our years of marriage, I had poured everything into giving Lilibeth the best I could.

I'd moved us from a cramped rental house to a shabby two-bedroom, then to a spacious flat, and finally to a villa. I'd also filled her once-empty jewelry box with expensive pieces little by little.

But all I had for myself was the modest watch on my wrist, which was worth barely a thousand dollars. Its strap, worn and faded from years of use, carried every memory of us.

I'd always loved watches, but having grown up poor, I'd never been able to afford one.

During those heady early days of our relationship, I had shyly told her about my little dream.

Three months later, she came to me cradling this very watch. "Ta-da! Look what I got you! A watch! Do you like it? I'm going to buy you so many watches someday that we'll need an entire cabinet just for them!"

It wasn't until much later on that I found out she'd scrimped and saved, working a part-time job for three months, just to afford it. After that day, I never changed my watch.

Now, I took a deep breath, slipped the watch off my wrist, and placed it on the nightstand.

When I finally zipped up the suitcase, I noticed the sky had gone dark. Hours had slipped by since Lilibeth had stormed out. Letting go of this relationship, it turned out, wasn't as easy as I'd imagined.

I managed a bitter smile, grabbed my suitcase, and was about to leave when the door suddenly swung open.

A wave of alcohol hit me first. Lilibeth stumbled in, cheeks flushed red, practically draped over a young man who was struggling to keep her upright.

I'd seen this man a couple of times before.

He was Carlson Jenner, the college student Lilibeth claimed she was sponsoring. In reality, he was a male escort at some club.